1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a faucet, more particularly to a faucet with a monitoring device, and a monitoring method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional water filter attached to a faucet is configured to filter a certain amount of water properly before it is required to replace a filtering component therein. Conventionally, it is recommended that a user replace the filtering component periodically. However, since water usage varies among different users, undesired instances such as the filtering component being worn out before replacement or the filtering component still being at the time of replacement usable may occur.
Therefore, in Taiwanese utility model no. M345165, there is disclosed a faucet including a valve body, a grip, a magnetic element disposed on the grip, a magnetic sensor disposed in the valve body, a controlling unit electrically coupled to the magnetic element, and a display electrically coupled to the controlling unit.
The magnetic sensor is configured to determine whether the faucet is in an open state by sensing proximity of the magnetic element, and the controlling unit is configured to record a cumulative time period within which the faucet is in the open state. Upon determining that the faucet is in the open state for over a predetermined period, the controlling unit is configured to transmit an alert signal to the display which generates an alert output, thereby providing indication to the user that the filtering component needs replacement.
Nonetheless, the aforementioned faucet has the following drawbacks.
The faucet has a relatively complicated structure due to use of the magnetic element and the magnetic sensor, such that manufacturing cost is high. In addition, the magnetic element and the magnetic sensor of the faucet have to be disposed respectively on the grip and the valve body, and have to be configured to precisely register with each other in order to operate properly, such that manufacture of the faucet is more difficult to assemble.